NHL Daily Fantasy Gems for February 17th

If you’re on FanDuel, each day we help uncover the gems in daily fantasy hockey when there is a full slate of games. Tuesday is a big night for NHL on FanDuel, with a $50,000 Breakaway ($2 entry) and another $2 tournament for an all expense paid entry into $200,000 NHL Fantasy Hockey Championship in Las Vegas. Without further ado, here are a couple line stacks and hidden gems for the seven games on the slate for February 17th.

Line stacksI'm a big fan of stacking lines in NHL daily fantasy, starting with a top down approach. You want a higher scoring game, higher scoring team, and focus on the forward line with the most power play time and overall upside...taking into account combined salaries of course. The two line stacks that I'm looking at for tonight:

New York Islanders (John Tavares, Josh Bailey, Anders Lee - $17,600 combined) - this line absolutely lit the lamp two of the last three games against Toronto and Columbus. They started off strong last night scoring just 11 seconds in, but the Rangers top line scored at will against these guys and they weren't able to answer. Look for them to bounce back against the Carolina Hurricanes, a team that is bottom half in the league for goals against per game.

Philadelphia Flyers (Brayden Schenn, Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek - $21,200 combined) - Probably the most favorable matchup of the night, they are at home versus the Blue Jackets who have allowed 13 goals in their last 3 games and are without captain Nick Foligno. One caveat, if the Jackets start Curtis McElhinney, he has been on a hot streak as of late with a 2.25 GAA and 3 wins in his last 4 starts. This line stack also comes at a price, Wayne Simmonds sees first unit power play time if you need to trade down in salary.

Hidden and not-so Hidden GemsSometimes stacking two sets of lines isn't possible because of salary ramifications, and you're forced to just take a partial line stack. Looking for a value guy to fill out your lineup, here are a couple that might be good plugins for tonight:

Aaron Ekblad - D ($4,600) - he might not be so hidden, but this rookie sees a ton of ice time including first unit power play. Up against the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight should be more than enough reason to plug him in.

Nicklas Backstrom - C ($6,900) - if you need a piece of the Capitals vs Penguins rivalry he might be the guy. He's been consistent, and the last time these two teams played he hit 7.5 FD points with a couple assists and whopping 5 shots on goal.

Ray Emery - G ($6,600) - hope he can build off his last effort against the Sabres (Win, 21 saves, 1 goal against). The last time they played the Blue Jackets it went to overtime.

Corey Tropp - RW ($3,000) - he is a true punt at this price. It looks like he'll be replacing Nick Foligno on the Blue Jackets top line so he should see an uptick in ice time. If he gets an even strength assist he'll hit value.

There you have it folks, hopefully these hidden gems help fill out your daily fantasy hockey lineup for February 17th. If you need more help, check out our fantasy PPG grid page. Good luck tonight!

Note: FanDuel is hosting a one-day $25,000 tournament where the winner takes home $2,500. Entry fee is just $5! Join FanDuel!